Title: Alien Invaders / Invasores Extraterrestres
Author: Lynn Huggins-Cooper
Illustrator: Bonnie Leick
Translator: Eida de la Vega
Publisher and/or Distributor: Raven Tree Press
Pages: 32
ISBN: 0-9724973-9-0
Price: $16.95
Publishing Date: June 2005
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating:
We are not being invaded by aliens; we already have been—insects! This is the theme to this very cute picture book. The author goes on to explain how they are everywhere and maybe we better make friends with them. The illustrator renders some really wacky insect pictures to accompany the text. Kids will be fascinated by this bi-lingual book. We rated it five hearts.
Title: Bowlegs’ Bounty
Author: Joseph Kropp
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Daytodayenterprises/Book Clearinghouse
Pages: 192
ISBN: 1-890905-24-0
Price: $9.95
Publishing Date: February, 2005
Reader: Judy Schuler
Rating:
When the Kaye family goes on vacation to the Emerald Coast in Florida, ten-year-old Benjamin and eight-year-old Martin are inspired by the setting, pirate legends, and their father’s bedtime stories about the pirate, Billy Bowlegs, to dig for treasure on the beach. Of course they won’t find anything, right? Don’t be too sure. Using the children’s adventures of the day, Mr. Kaye tells a thrilling tale each night about Billy Bowlegs and two boys, Tip and Tap Pettigrew. Benjamin and Martin can’t wait to hear the next installment of Tip and Tap’s adventures each night. Neither could I. The fast-paced story about the boys’ adventures and pirate chases kept me turning pages.
Joseph Kropp has written an adventure within an adventure. The Kayes’ trip has its adventurous moments, as well as some educational experiences. The bedtime story is an adventure with a moral, designed to make kids think about theft and what the whole idea of stealing entails. Bowlegs’ Bounty is educational as well as fun. We give it four hearts.
Title: Disabled Fables
Author: Members of L.A. Goal
Illustrator: Members of L.A. Goal
Publisher and/or Distributor: Star Bright Books
Pages: 56
ISBN: 1-932065-97-0
Price: $19.95
Publishing Date: 2005
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating:
Imagine a group of mentally and physically disabled people who dare to tell the tales of Aesop and create the accompanying artwork. Then imagine a famous actor, Sean Penn, coming down to their worksite to labor at their packing and wrapping assembly line (and finding he needed quite a lot of instructions from these people, before he could get it right). Sean was impressed by his experience—enough so he wrote the foreword to this book. And what a loving and teaching book it is. Each disabled person tells a story and then tells what it means to him or her at a personal level. The project was a major positive happening in many ways. Many gained from it at L.A. Goal, and many more normal children will profit by reading this book. We rated it a high five hearts.
Title: Firecracker Jones is on the Case
Author: Christopher Klim
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Hopewell Publications
Pages: 111
ISBN: 0972690670
Price: $9.95
Publishing Date: July 4, 2005
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating:
This mid-grade (8-12) book is the first in a series featuring the protagonist Francis “Firecracker” Jones, a ninth-grader suffering from Attention Deficit Hearing Disorder. Socially challenged because of his handicap and the usual adolescent angst, Firecracker generally seeks to fade into the woodwork at school, with the exception of his best friend who is a highly popular jock. Suddenly, his friend’s family moves away in the middle of the night. The adults in the neighborhood seem to know where they family went and why, but they’re not telling. It’s up to Firecracker, along with his inept sidekick, Chub, to locate his missing friend and get him back to school before he loses an opportunity to set a football record.
The author, a former space program physicist, has written several successful adult novels. This is his first attempt in the juvenile genre—apparently successfully as well. I especially liked the way the protagonist uses his disorder in a positive way to problem solve. We rated this book a high four hearts.
Title: Horse Showing for Kids
Author: Cheryl Kimball
Illustrator: Various
Publisher and/or Distributor: Storey Publishing
Pages: 160
ISBN: 1-58017-573-2
Price: $16.95
Publishing Date: 2004
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating:
Horse training and showing has become an immensely popular activity. This book assists youngsters interested in this field in learning all they need to know about horse showing and everything required to successfully compete in this arena. It is very well illustrated with photos, drawings, and cartoons—a visual delight. Its information is fairly complete, at least for the children’s level. Any young lady or lad will have a good idea as to what to expect when they get into this activity. The information is grade appropriate and quite logical. We rated this five hearts.
Title: Knuffle Bunny
Author: Mo Willems
Illustrator: Mo Willems
Publisher and/or Distributor: Hyperion Books for Children
Pages: 32
ISBN: 0-7868-1870-0
Price: $15.99
Publishing Date: 2004
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating:
This picture book is a fascinating combination of sepia photos and color cartoons mixed together. A young baby accidentally leaves her favorite toy, “Knuffle Bunny,” down at the Laundromat. She has difficulties communicating her problem with her father; however, her mother seems to understand. The family rushes back to the Laundromat, and Knuffle Bunny is found in a drier. In her excitement, the baby shouts her first words—“Knuffle Bunny!”
The story is cute and the pictorial concepts are new and interesting. The author is a six-time Emmy Award winner for his work on Sesame Street and has also won the Caldecott Award for a previous book. We scored this one four hearts.
Title: Ocean Whisper / Susurro del oceano
Author: Dennis Rockhill
Illustrator: Dennis Rockhill
Translator: Eida de la Vega
Publisher and/or Distributor: Raven Tree Press
Pages: 32
ISBN: 0-9741922-4-9
Price: $16.95
Publishing Date: June 2005
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating:
The book begins with a one-page poem about dreaming about the sea and becoming a mermaid who plays with the whales. On the next page is the Spanish translation. The rest of this visually interesting book is without words. It is designed for the child to tell the story he sees unfolding in pictures in his own words. This allows a child’s imagination to develop. We rated the book four hearts.
Title: Popeye the Little Tree Frog’s Big Adventure
Author: Jack Crandall
Illustrator: Bob Cavanaugh
Publisher and/or Distributor: Scott Graber Company, Kalispell, MT
Pages: 32
ISBN: 1-930043-46-5
Price: $7.95
Publishing Date: Oct 2004
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating:
Once upon a time, there was a googlely-eyed tree frog named Popeye who crawled up among the leaves of a spinach plant. Imagine his surprise when the plant gets harvested and he finds himself inside a clear plastic bag on its way to a grocery. Now imagine the surprise of the person who buys and opens that bag of spinach to find little Popeye. Based on a true story, Popeye ends up as a school classroom pet and science display.
The author tells a wonderful tale in a manner in which young children can quickly connect with. The story is both interesting and educational. The illustrator, a retired Disney animator, provides very realistic pictures about the little frog’s journey and the people who interact with him. We rated this book a high four hearts.
Title: Tito the Firefighter / Tito el Bombero
Author: Tim Hoppey
Illustrator: Kimberly Hoffman
Publisher and/or Distributor: Raven Tree Press
Pages: 32
ISBN: 0-9724973-3-1
Price: $16.95
Publishing Date: June 2005
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating:
This story of a young Hispanic boy in Harlem helping NY firefighters out by translating a call for help is structured differently than many other bi-lingual books. The Spanish words are scattered throughout the text so that young readers and listeners can learn by the context setting—akin to immersion language training. The book is on the mark as it shows how often young children are thrust by situations into translation responsibilities dealing with emergencies. We rated it a high four hearts.
